Foster Downtown Momentum, Our Towns / Southington

February 11, 2002

Speeding up improvements to Southington's downtown Center Street might cost a little more, but several new businesses are getting established in the area and officials should be capitalizing on that momentum.

The Center Street improvements, expected to cost $926,500, are part of Southington's Renaissance downtown revitalization project. When complete, the improvements will provide for outdoor dining as well as wider sidewalks for casual strolling, trees, crosswalks, new lampposts and other pedestrian-friendly features.

There were early hopes that plans would be completed in time for bids this winter, but council debate and additional fine-tuning pushed progress back by several weeks. Because the work is expected to take four months, Town Engineer Anthony Tranquillo recently said that, by the time bids are requested, reviewed and a contractor selected, the work probably won't be finished until Sept. 15. He also warned that shortening the construction schedule and instituting penalties for lateness could make the contract more expensive.

Still, this would be money well-spent. Southington should do whatever it can to get the work completed sooner.

In a November letter to the council, several downtown merchants noted that the climate created by the Renaissance project has yielded tangible results, attracting several new small businesses to the area -- including restaurants. For these establishments, a September completion date for the Center Street project would essentially mean no outdoor dining for another year.

The Renaissance has proved to be a small hothouse, fostering growth among small businesses downtown. But some of these businesses are still in their fragile early stages and need nurturing. Getting Center Street completed by summer would give these businesses a little extra time in the sun and a longer growing season.